Saturday, July 14, 2012

Belfast

I really did not know what to expect to find in Belfast.
While the city is featured in many movies, most of the scenes occur along
darkened streets or inside noisy pubs and someone is being hurt. I was therefore pleasantly surprised with what I found.

It is not a big city, but the compact
downtown seemed vibrant and offered a mix of heritage and new buildings.There are a number of pedestrian streets and
a remarkable new shopping centre called Victoria Square in the city centre. What makes it remarkable
is that it is both enclosed, and open to the elements; the sort of thing you
might expect to find in Hawaii, not Northern Ireland. A lovely feature is an
upper level glass dome which offers a 360 degree public viewing area.

One of the most impressive buildings in the downtown is the City
Hall…which sits within extensive landscaped grounds at the end of a major
street. While we didn’t go inside, it is much more impressive than Vancouver’s
City Hall, or most other North American City Halls for that matter.Within the grounds a large TV had been set up in advance of the Summer Olympics which begins in a couple of
weeks.

We had planned to stay at the Merchant Hotel ranked number 2 on TripAdvisor but had trouble
finding it, and ended up at the Malmaison, part of a small chain of
boutique hotels in the British Isles, since it was where we thought the Merchant would be, which also happened to be right next to where we had
parked our car. While I suspect the Merchant would have been a more luxurious
place to stay, the Malmaison was very comfortable, with extremely friendly
staff, and an interesting extremely purple lobby and intimate dining room.

I was particularly impressed with the art work throughout
the hotel. However, we did encounter one problem…while the stone façade leads
one to expect a very solid building, in fact it is a converted heavy timber
structure, and we could hear people walking above us…and I know that those
below could hear us.Therefore, if you
go, request a room on the top floor.

Someone had posted a comment on TripAdvisor that he thought
the breakfast was the worst he had in Ireland. I don’t know where he had been
staying, but I was impressed with the food and enjoyed fresh
smoked kippers. (They’re Irish aren’t they?)

Speaking of TripAdvisor, we did take its advice and have
dinner at Ginger Bistro, the top rated restaurant in Belfast. While we were
surprised to find it accepting its last reservations at 9pm, we had a very good
and creative meal.

Before dinner, we visited The Crown considered by many to be
the best pub in Belfast. It was once a Victorian Gin Palace and is most remarkable
for its splendid ornate interior featuring individual and very private booths.

The highlight of our trip to Belfast was the Titanic
Experience or Museum, which just opened in March 2012. It is spectacular, and
well worth a visit…it is also worth a separate blog posting!

Below are more photos of Belfast for those of you who have
never been there, and those who have.

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